Welcome to Kutumba

Namaste,

We are proud and happy to introduce the inaugural issue of Kutumba, the journal of the Hindu Community Institute (HCI).

HCI trains professionals from all fields for community service and for further studies towards Hindu Chaplaincy. HCI's objective is to provide spiritual care and compassionate services to the broader community regardless of race, religion or ethnic background. Kutumba will expand on this vision by presenting the work of our dedicated volunteers, providing updates on our Counselor of Hindu Tradition (CHT) course, featuring resources that can be helpful when providing counseling support, and highlighting opportunities for learning and serving.

This inaugural issue contains exciting news from our CHT alumni including from Neeti ji, who is among the first cohort of Hindu chaplains currently training at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and Vithagan ji who reflects on the benefits of his CHT training and his plans to expand volunteer efforts in South Africa. We also hear from Hindu university students who discuss the critical need for spiritual support on US college campuses. Our feature piece is from our esteemed colleague, Mukund Acharya ji, who details how to provide a compassionate presence at the end of life. In each issue of Kutumba, we will feature perspectives on receiving service. In this issue, Sharmistha ji and Tarun ji poignantly reflect on the value of community support in the face of immense tragedy. They inspire us with their efforts to make our coastlines safer for all.

We hope you enjoy what we have put together, and we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our HCI family. We also welcome your feedback.

Lakshmi Srinivasan, M.D.

Member, HCI Editorial Board | Graduating CHT-2022

Dr. Srinivasan is a practicing physician. She lives in Northern California with her husband and children. She is a recent graduate of the CHT program (class of 2022) and is excited to serve on the editorial board of Kutumba, the HCI journal.